Background
Joel Hirschhorn was born on December 18, 1937 in Bronx, New York, United States, in the family of Irving and Evelyn (latoff) Hirschhorn.
Joel Hirschhorn was born on December 18, 1937 in Bronx, New York, United States, in the family of Irving and Evelyn (latoff) Hirschhorn.
Joel attended Hunter College.
After graduating, Hirschhorn became a regular performer on New York’s nightclub circuit, both as a solo singer and as a member of the rock & roll band, The Highlighters. During the mid-1960s, Hirschhorn branched out into writing film soundtracks. The first score he wrote was for "Who Killed Teddy Bear?", which was directed by his friend Joseph Cates. He worked with Cates again the following year in The "Fat Spy." However, the film was received so badly that Hirschhorn struggled to find work in Hollywood for years afterwards.
Hirschhorn, along with songwriting partner Al Kasha, did not work on another film until 1970’s "The Cheyenne Social Club", which was directed by Gene Kelly. It was the pair’s next effort, for "The Poseidon Adventure", that really made their name.
Hirschhorn and Kasha continued to work together until the late 1990s, their final collaboration being "Rescue Me." The pair also worked together on Broadway musicals, receiving Tony Award for Best Original Score nominations for both "Copperfield" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Late in his career, Hirschhorn wrote "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting", which was first published in 2001.
On April 18, 1969 Joel married Jill Williams, but they divorced in June, 1984. Then on June 18, 1985 he married a documentary producer Jennifer Carter. He had three stepchildren: Derek, Brent, and Kevin.